Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I'd like to start things off here by wishing a happy 249th birthday to America. Yes, I know it's not until tomorrow, but there won't be a newsletter tomorrow, so I have to get the birthday wishes out today. I'd also like to wish an early birthday to Jamie Gillan and Austin Trammell, the only two active NFL players who were born on the Fourth of July. 

Anyway, everyone is in a rush to start their weekend early, so I won't waste any more of your time. Let's get to the rundown. 

As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. It makes a great Fourth of July gift and that's mostly because we deliver fireworks to your inbox every week day. 

One of the busiest teams of the NFL offseason was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who seemed to make a big move every week over the past few months. They started the offseason by trading for DK Metcalf and then they pulled off a shocker this week by acquiring both Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith from the Dolphins. 

Although the Steelers made plenty of headline-grabbing acquisitions, did they actually get better? That's what CBS Sports lead researcher Doug Clawson wanted to know, so he broke things down by position. 

Quarterback
In: Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard
Out: Justin Fields, Russell Wilson
Verdict: Marginal improvement. "You could definitely argue this is a lateral move but I'll say it's marginal improvement. Rodgers was one of the worst starters in the NFL last year (33rd in completion percentage over expected) but finished the season playing better ball and has more upside than Wilson."

Running back
In: Kaleb Johnson, Kenneth Gainwell
Out: Najee Harris
Verdict: improvement. "Najee Harris' departure is a case of addition by subtraction, even after four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons to begin his career. He ranked third-worst in the NFL in explosive run rate (5.7% of rushes went for 12+ yards) among players with 200+ carries last season. Jaylen Warren and rookie third-round pick Kaleb Johnson can both add explosive plays the Steelers offense desperately needs."

If you want to see the breakdown for each position, we have that here. Doug's final overall verdict is that the Steelers are an improved team from last season, so you can take that with you into the weekend Steelers' fans. 

When a player gets traded in the NFL, there's no guarantee that they're going to be successful at their next stop. For the most part, their success is going to depend on what kind of situation they landed in, so with that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to rank players who got traded this offseason by who ended up in the best situation.  

1. DK Metcalf to the Steelers. "He'll be the No. 1 wide receiver with Pittsburgh and an easy target to thrive with Aaron Rodgers. Metcalf's numbers should improve in Pittsburgh as he's the focal point of a good passing game. Would it be surprising if Metcalf has the same impact in Pittsburgh as A.J. Brown has had in Philadelphia?"

2. Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders. "The Commanders badly needed an upgrade at left tackle after getting blown out in the NFC Championship last season. They were able to get one of the better ones in football with Tunsil, a five-time Pro Bowler at the position who is still in his prime at age 30."

3. Joe Thuney to the Bears. "The Bears significantly needed to improve their offensive line, and acquiring a four-time All-Pro in Thuney was a significant upgrade for a team that needed to upgrade the interior of that unit."

Kerr ranked a total of 12 players and you can see everyone on his list here. 

You know it's the offseason when we start ranking players by jersey number, but that's exactly what we're going to do today and I actually think you're going to love it. Cody Benjamin went through all 100 available numbers and came up with the best player in the NFL who is currently wearing each number. 

Let's take a look at a few of the numbers from his ranking: 

1: Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals). Chase beat out Jalen Hurts for the title of best player wearing No. 1.
4: Dak Prescott (Cowboys)
12: Puka Nacua (Rams). This number once belonged to both Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, but now, it's been almost abandoned by starting quarterbacks around the NFL. 
22: Derrick Henry (Ravens)
30: Chuba Hubbard (Panthers)
58: Penei Sewell (Lions)
62: Joe Thuney (Bears)
82: Jaylin Noel (Texans). Name one player who wears No. 82. You can't. That's how a rookie ended up in this spot. 
87: Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
99:  Leonard Williams (Seahawks)

If you want to see how the entire ranking of all 100 numbers turned out, be sure to click here. 

There is nothing more exciting than the release of a new uniform and we're going to be getting several of them over the next few weeks. At least eight teams are expected to unveil a new alternate uniform or new alternate helmet during the month of July and the first one will be coming next week. 

The Commanders revealed the release date for their new alternate uniform and we also know when the Chargers will be releasing their new alternate uniform. The guys over at SportsLogo.net have the release dates for the other alternate uniforms, so let's check those out: 

July 9: Commanders to unveil new alternate uniform and helmet
July 15: Chargers to unveil new alternate uniform and helmet
July 15: Buccaneers to unveil new alternate uniform
July 16: Browns to unveil new alternate helmet
July 21: Steelers to unveil new alternate uniform and helmet
July 22: Saints to unveil new alternate uniform and helmet 
July 23: Packers to unveil new alternate uniform and helmet 
Late July (TBA): Seahawks to unveil new alternate uniform

These aren't the only eight teams that will be getting a new alternate uniform. The NFL's "Rivalries" program is also debuting this year. This was announced DURING the draft, so a lot of people missed the initial announcement (We've got the details here ). Over the next four seasons, one NFC division and one AFC division will each get to debut a new "Rivalries" uniform. The four teams in the AFC East and the four teams in the NFC West will be the first teams to partake in the program, so they'll all be getting a new "Rivalries" uniform for 2025, but there's no release date yet for any of those uniforms. 

If you're scoring at home, that means there will be a total of 14 teams unveiling a new uniform or helmet, plus one team (Seattle) that's expected to unveil two new uniforms. 

Former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker got hit with a 10-game suspension last week, which is certainly lengthy, but it's not even one of the 20 longest suspensions of the past 20 years. If you're wondering how I know that, it's because Cody Benjamin decided to do some research on the topic. 

Let's take a look at the 10 longest suspensions over the past two decades: 

• Indefinite: Justin Blackmon (DUI, substance abuse)
• Seven seasons: Rolando McClain (substance abuse)
• Four seasons: Travis Henry (substance abuse)
• Three seasons: Daryl Washington (substance abuse)
• Three seasons: Johnny Jolly (substance abuse)
• Two seasons: Aldon Smith (substance abuse)
• Two seasons: Tanard Jackson (substance abuse)
• Two seasons: Michael Vick (Dogfighting charges)
• 18 games: Josh Gordon (substance abuse)

If you've never heard Blackmon's story, it's actually pretty interesting. The Jaguars made him the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and he actually had an impressive rookie year where he caught 64 passes for 865 yards and five touchdowns. However, after his rookie season, he would only play in FOUR more games for the REST of his career due to suspension. 

Gordon is another name on this list that most NFL fans might know. He actually led the NFL in receiving in 2013 with 1,646 yards, but he was hit with multiple suspensions after that and was never the same player (He only played in five games from 2014 thru 2016). 

Tucker is one of 32 players over the past 20 years who has been suspended for at least 10 games and if you want to see the full list, we have that here. 

It's not the busiest time in the NFL, but there's still a lot happening, so I went ahead and put together a small roundup for you. 

• Aaron Rodgers is hosting the Steelers receivers in Malibu. The Steelers new quarterback said he was going to try and get his receivers and tight ends together this offseason, and that's happening this week. Rodgers is hosting everyone near his home in Malibu and it looks like everyone is having a good time. You can check out a few pictures from the practice session here. 
• Bills first-round pick facing sexual assault allegation. Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston has been hit with a lawsuit that is accusing him of sexual assault. The lawsuit was filed by a female who went to the University of Kentucky with Hairston. She alleges that the assault occurred in 2021 after he followed her into her dorm. We've got more details on the case here . 
• Cleveland mayor calls out Browns. The Browns will be leaving the city of Cleveland once their new stadium is built and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb NOT happy about that fact. "We are deeply disappointed that the final state budget includes both a $600 million public subsidy for a domed stadium in Brook Park and changes to Ohio's [Art] Modell Law -- provisions we strongly opposed and requested be removed," Bibb said this week, via WKYC.com. "Relocating the Browns will divert economic activity from downtown, create a competing entertainment district, and disrupt the momentum of our lakefront redevelopment." The Browns' proposed new stadium will be located in Brook Park, which sits roughly 17 miles away from downtown Cleveland.